Editing Brixton (section)

===Gang culture===
{{Main|Yardies}}
In 2003 ''[[The Independent]]'' reported that around 200 "hardcore Yardies" are based in Lambeth, some operating as members of "Firehouse Posse" or Brixton's "Kartel Crew".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20030921/ai_n12745420 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070822042728/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20030921/ai_n12745420 |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 August 2007 |title=Focus: Gun Culture: Gun gangs of the capital &#124; Find Articles at BNET}}</ref> Yardies were historically associated with Jamaican immigrants and had a recognised stronghold in Brixton. Parts of Brixton were referred to as "Little Tivoli" after "[[Tivoli Gardens, Kingston|Tivoli Gardens]]", a notorious "garrison community" in Jamaica ruled by gunmen.<ref>{{cite web |title=Yardie gangs control cocaine network in Britain |url=http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20020225/lead/lead2.html |agency=The Times |work=Jamaica Gleaner |date=25 February 2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906203807/http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20020225/lead/lead2.html |archive-date=6 September 2008}}</ref><ref>[http://gangsinlondon.blogspot.com/2001_09_01_archive.html Gangsinlondon blog] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310172341/http://gangsinlondon.blogspot.com/2001_09_01_archive.html |date=10 March 2012 }}</ref> In 1999 a scandal broke over [[Metropolitan Police]] detectives allowing two known Jamaican Yardies to stay in Britain as an intelligence tool. [[Eaton Green]], one of the Yardies, escaped bail in Jamaica in 1991 and settled in Brixton, dealing in [[crack cocaine]]. Three months later Green was arrested by a Brixton constable, Steve Barker, and became a paid informer. Green provided intelligence about Yardie activity for two years, continuing the use of firearms and the dealing of crack throughout this time.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/feb/16/4 |title=Police damned over Yardie chaos |work=The Guardian |date=16 February 1999 |location=London |access-date=11 December 2016 |archive-date=6 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170306135919/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/feb/16/4 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Several gangs are headquartered in the Brixton area. The "Murderzone" (MZ) gang, which is involved in illegal drug dealing, hail from the Somerleyton Estate.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23496314-details/10+held+in+raids+on+%27Murder+Zone%27+gang/article.do |title=10 held in raids on 'Murder Zone' gang |work=London Evening Standard |date=18 June 2008 |access-date=20 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090109185021/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23496314-details/10%2Bheld%2Bin%2Braids%2Bon%2B%27Murder%2BZone%27%2Bgang/article.do |archive-date=9 January 2009}}</ref> The "Poverty Driven Children"/"Peel Dem Crew" ([[PDC (gang)|PDC]]) are located in the Angell Town and Loughborough Junction area.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23454573-details/My+escape+from+gangland/article.do |title=My escape from gangland |work=London Evening Standard |date=14 March 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917111018/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23454573-details/My%2Bescape%2Bfrom%2Bgangland/article.do |archive-date=17 September 2008}}</ref><ref>[https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2008/06/20/exclusive-axed-big-brother-bully-alex-has-gang-links-89520-20614450/ Mirror.co.uk] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208105647/http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2008/06/20/exclusive-axed-big-brother-bully-alex-has-gang-links-89520-20614450/ |date=8 December 2008 }}</ref> "Organised Crime" (OC), a gang linked with various shootings and an ongoing rivalry with the [[Peckham Boys]], are based in the Myatts Field Estate.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7562485.stm |work=BBC News |title=Gun found in shop shooting probe |date=15 August 2008 |access-date=27 March 2010 |archive-date=15 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115215715/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7562485.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4480395.ece |work=The Times |location=London |title=Young passerby killed as gunmen open fire in street |first1=Adam |last1=Fresco |first2=Fiona |last2=Hamilton |date=8 August 2008 |access-date=27 March 2010 |archive-date=6 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906232648/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4480395.ece |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Gas Gang (Brixton gang)|GAS Gang]], which stands for "Guns and Shanks", "Grind and Stack", "Grip and Shoot", or "Gangsters Always Shoot", was located mainly in Angell Town.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18398190 |title=The rise and fall of Brixton's GAS gang |date=12 June 2012 |website=Bbc.co.uk |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-date=21 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321160827/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18398190 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2011, five of the most prominent members of the GAS Gang—Ricardo Giddings, Helder Demorais, Jamal Moore, Shaquille Haughton and Kyle Kinghorn—were sentenced to a total of 76 years in prison for the murder of rival gang member, fifteen-year-old Zac Olumegbon.<ref>{{cite news |title=Zac Olumegbon murder: Four teenagers jailed for life |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-16283113 |access-date=14 March 2017 |work=BBC News |date=21 December 2011 |archive-date=27 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170527193429/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-16283113 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Members of local gangs are mostly in their late teens or early 20s, with gang leaders usually being childhood friends. Brought up in some of London's poorest areas some gang members reportedly move from house to house on an almost nightly basis, making it hard to track them. According to the [[Metropolitan Police]], these youth gangs are far from organised criminal masterminds; however, they continue to evade the police and have been responsible for numerous offences of homicide. [[Operation Trident (Metropolitan Police)|Operation Trident]] officers stated that it is a "struggle" to persuade local people to testify, because of fear of reprisals. Trident officers stated that some gang members were "inept at handling powerful guns", and that gangs have machine guns, in 9&nbsp;mm. According to the detective many of the deactivated guns are shipped in from the Balkans and then reactivated.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/mar/07/terrorism.ukcrime |work=The Guardian |location=London |title=Criminal gangs use Islam to intimidate victims |first=Rosie |last=Cowan |date=7 March 2005 |access-date=27 April 2010 |archive-date=4 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004085042/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/mar/07/terrorism.ukcrime |url-status=live }}</ref> Brixton has been noted as one of the most significant origins of [[UK drill]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}}